Plywood wallboard



Aug. 26, 1941. w. A. WARNER 2,253,567

PLYwoQD wALLBoARD Filed sept. 2o, 1937 2 shets-sheet 1 Augfze, 1941.A w A WARNER 2,253,667

PLYWOOD WALLB/OARD Filed Sept. 20, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A pensive residences.

Patented Aug. 26, 1941 PLrwoon wALLBoAnD Warren A. Warner, Portland, Oreg.4

s claims.

Application September 20, 19,37, Serial No. 164,771

invention relates to wallboard and more particularlyl to plywood for use on interior Walls and ceilings of dwellings and other buildings.

In building construction during recent years, there has been a tendency away from the use 'of wet-plastered walls, the many objections to which are well known. The development has been toward the use of dry construction em- :fploying plaster-board, compressed fibre compov l" sitionv boards and wood veneer plywood. While ."allpf these wall coverings have certain well known advantages, they also have certain drawbacks, the principal one common to these coverings being the difficulty of concealing the joints between the large sheet or panels. With respect to plaster and compressed fibre composition wallboards or sheets, another marked objection has been that they produce a soft or fragile surface which is easily damaged, the joints between the sheets are weak and difficult to hide, and the range of surface decorative possibilities is more limited than with respect to a wooden surface. Among the advantages of laminated wood veneer or plywood wallboards over solid lumber, are greater strength, possibility of a large area in a single sheet or board, ease of obtaining vnatural grain finishes, etc. Notwithstanding theseand other desirable qualities of plywood for the surfacing of interior walls and ceilings, it has not been extensively used especially in the more ex- One of the reasons for this extremely limited use of plywood wallboards has been the lack of a satisfactory joint without the employment of ioverlapping andprotruding trim strips or battens, My invention has overcome this and other objections and vhas already de-I velo'ped a new outlet for plywood.

` One of the objects of my invention is to adapt this highly desirable material for use in the in.

expensive production of planked, paneled or tiled effects on interior walls or ceilings in a manner that does away with the use of the conventional unsightly battens heretofore used to hide the joints between plywood panels.

A further object is to provide for the producoff its own pattern tocover the joints. f y vWith the lforegoing `and otherrobleots in view,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of portions o'f'two effects' which can be produced by the use of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional perspective view through portions of two abutting sheets of the wallboard showing one of the molding strips inlaid and another concealing the joint or seam at the abuttion of a wall of this character which is free fion"V visible seams or joints and which uses portions ting edges.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a sheet constructed to represent planks of random widths.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing one of the sheets constructed to represent planks of uniform width.

Fig. 5 is a'perspective View showing one of the sheets provided with elongated rectangular panels for a tile effect.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing one of the sheets constructed to provide it with square panels for another tile eiect.

Each sheet 1 of theimproved wallboard may be of any desired size but is preferably standardized to a width of four-'feet and a length of from eight to vtwelve feet. Each sheet may be composed of any desiredvnumber of wood lamini, with each lamina of any desired thickness, but for most purposes, threel lamini each of labout vone-sixteenth of an inch in thickness, will suillce,

the three plus the thickness of the glue or cement used in securing them together, providing a board substantially one-quarter of an inch thick.

In the present disclosure, eacha sheet l embodies 'a top or anterior lamina 8, a bottom or posterior lamina 9, and an intermediate lamina I0. The top or anterior lamina 8 may be made.

of a series of spaced parallel strips, planks or panel portions Il as seen in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, cr of a plurality of spaced plank or panel portions I l as seenfin Figs. 5 and 6. 'I'he planks or panels Il or Il' are held in fixed spaced relation by at 'least the posterior lamina 9. In the boards for use on side walls of a room or other structure, as indicated in Fig. 1 and in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the planks or panels Il extend throughout the length of the sheet 'l to represent wooden boards or planks of either random widths or of uniform width. vIn Figs. 5 and 6, the smaller planks or .panels I I' are spaced apart both trax` wersely and longitudinally of the sheet l to 'give the effect y of either rectangular or square tiles.

' -niy invention resides in the novel subject matter 50 hereinafter described and claimed,` the preferred 'embodiments being illustrated in the accompany.'

" ins drawings.

In all views, thin wooden molding strips I2 occupy the spaces between the' planks or panels and are' cemented yto the lamina portions which connect said planks orpanels in the present disclosure to the next under lamina I0, and it is preferable that the outer sides or faces lof these molding strips be ush or substantially ilush with the outer faces of the planks or panels. While the strips I2 are shown in Fig. 2 somewhat thicker than the anterior lamina 8 and the grooves I3 which receive said strips therefore extend slightly into the intermediate lamina III, the invention is not restricted to this strip thickness and groove depth.

Each sheet 'I constructed to represent boards or planks extending from end to end thereof, is preferably provided with rabbets I4 extending along only its longitudinal edges and opening through its anterior side. Each sheet intended to represent tile or relatively small panels, is not only provided with corresponding rabbets Il along its longitudinal dges, but is similarly rabbeted at its ends as indicated at I5 in Figs. 5 and 6. The rabbeted edges of the sheets are to abut each other as shown in Fig. 2. and Joint covering molding strips I6 are provided to be secured in the rabbets of said edges, the various sheets being, of course, secured to the usual studs I'I or to any other desired supporting structure before said molding strips I6 are applied. In fastening the sheets to the supporting structure, suitable nails are driven through the rabbeted edges and at any other necessary points. and the nails passing. through said rabbeted edges are covered and obscured by the molding strips I8, the latter being secured in place by small brads Il or by glue or cement, or by both of these means. When casein glue is used, the strips are practically welded to the sheets and the joint is sealed for insulation. Any nails necessarily so located that they cannot be covered by the strips I6, are .of course finish nails countersunk in the usual manner so they are not visible on the completed wall.

The joint-covering molding strips I6 are identical with the molding strips I2. Both the strips I2 and, IB are preferably made from the same kind of wood veneer used for the planks or panels forming the top lamina-8. Moreover, the visible relation of the strips I6 with respect to the planks or panels II, II', is identical withthe visible relation existing between the inlaid strips I2 and said planks or panels. Thus, in a completed wall. the separate sheets 1 absolutely lose their identity and an apparently seamless paneled or tiled wall 'is produced. It will, of course, be understood that the joint covering strips I6 and the inlaid strips I2 have the same appearance and that they may be of any cross-sectional shape. Since these pattem-forming strips I2 and Il are of theV same width, the panel areas Il(and II' are uniformly spaced, and the rabbets I4 and I5 at the edges of the sheets 1 are. of a width equal to half the spacing between said panel areas.

My improved plywood wallboards may be easily and inexpensively manufactured from large standard sheets of plywood by simply forming grooves orv dadoes I3 of suitable depth, in one or both directions, rabbeting the opposite edges or all of the edges to the same depth, and then gluing the molding strips I2 in the grooves or dadoes. Since the finished articles are flat, uniform in size and relatively rigid, they may be safely handled by the workmen without danger of damage. I'hey also lend themselves to being compactly packed for shipment in a package containing also enough of the joint covering strips I6 and the necessary nails or brads toA install the number of sheets that the package contains.

This new article of manufacture overcomes the real objections to the use of plywood wallboards invisible and a substantially at Wall is formed free from the unsightly and objectionable battens heretofore used. The neat narrow molding strips I2, Il which are flush or substantially flush with the surface, not only cover all joints or seams but breakup an otherwise plain surface into attractive, decorative panels. Being all wood, the

sheets or panels are adaptable to various conterials and without the necessity of employing especially skilled labor.

Excellent results have been obtained from the exact details herein shown and described, and

they have proven to be advantageous from standpoints of manufacture, sale, installation, and decoration. They may, therefore, be considered as preferred, with the understanding, however, that variations may be made within the scope of the invention as claimed. For example, the front lamina may simply be grooved to provide molding areas corresponding to those areas formed by the faces of the molding strips I2, such grooving serving at the one k,operation to divide the face of said lamina into the plank or panel kareas II or II and the intervening molding areas I2.

I claim:f

1. A wall or ceiling comprising all-wood laminated veneer wallboard sheets having abutting edges, the anterior lamina of each sheet having whereby the visible relation of said faces of said joint-covering molding strips with said plank or panel areas and the visible relation of said molding areas with said plank or panel areas being substantially identical, and an apparently seamless paneled wall is produced.

2. A laminated wall board made of wood veneer the top lamina of which is composed-of a plurality of uniformly spaced planks or panels, and molding strips intervening between the planks or panels, the molding strips being secured to the next under lamina and having their top faces in the same plane as the top faces of said planks or panels. v

3. A laminated wallboard of which -the top lamina is composed of a series of planks or panels uniformly spaced with those at the edges of the board inset from said edges a distance equal to half the spacing between the planks orpanels to provide rabbets at the edges, and molding strips intervening between the planks or panels and disposed in the rabbets of adjacent boards, the molding strips being secured to the next under lamina and having their top faces in the same plane as the top faces of said planks or panels.

4. An article of manufacture comprising a wallboard sheet made of laminated Wood veneer and having the falce off-its anterior lamina composed of plank or panel areas separated by an intervening molding area, the latter being substan-v tiaily flush with said plank or panel areas to give opposite edges r'abbeted on its anterior face, the

rabbets having a width equal to one-half of the width of said molding area, whereby two abutted sheets may have their contiguous rabbets lled by a thin wooden molding stripliaving the same width and appearance as said molding area' for the purpose set forth.

5. A plywood wallboard made of laminated wood veneer and having its top lamina composed of at least two spaced planks-or panels and a molding strip intervening between adjacent planks or panels. the molding strip or strips being secured to an under lamina and having the top face thereof in substantially the same plane as the top faces of said planks or panels.

6. A plywod d made of laminated wood veneer and having its top lamina composed of a 'series of planks or panels uniformly spaced with those at the edges ofthe board inset from said edges a distance equal half the spacing between the planks or panels to provide rabbets at the edges, and molding strips intervening between .the planks or panels and disposed in the rabbets of adjacent boards, the molding strips being secured to an under lamina and having their top faces in substantially the -same plane as the top faces of said planks or panels. f

WARREN A. WARNER. 

